Eric Wedge Fired

I’ve been swamped with work (and about 80 comments I have yet to read for that Jeter thing), so it may just be some quicker hits today. Here’s a quick one:

The Indians are in the early stages of what general manager Mark Shapiro referred to as a “reloading” period, and the reload will extend to the managerial position and the coaching staff.

A 1:30 p.m. ET press conference was scheduled Wednesday at Progressive Field to announce that Wedge and his coaches have all been relieved of their duties. Wedge and his staff will stay aboard for the season’s final six games, including the four-game set in Boston this weekend.

Quick reactions:

In light of the fact that he’ll be finishing the season, I can’t decide if the “Wedge will keep his job through the end of the season” talk from July was technically accurate or not. I mean, he’ll be in the dugout until then, but he has certainly been fired before the season is over. Do you still have a job if you’ve been given your walking papers? Are you still alive if you’re a zombie?

What is the point of firing them now as opposed to a week from now, especially if they’re being allowed to finish the season? My only guess is that they want to get a jump start on courting a replacement without running afoul of MLB’s “no news during the playoffs” rule, but it’s not like anyone abides by that anyway, right?

Finally, how Newspeak is Shapiro’s “reloading” line? It’s one thing to say that when you’re just falling short of the playoffs and make moves to get you over the hump. It’s another thing altogether when you jettison two Cy Young Award winners in a row, and your best hitter in midseason trades.

In any event, no matter how Shapiro characterizes it, he is now the next one on the chopping block.

Comments

Maybe Shapiro had to fire Wedge as the hatchet-man, so when the offseason begins you can kill the hatchet-man? That way no one who will be left in the organization will have the blood from the purge on their hands.

Why would you even write about weather the Indians lied by saying they would keep Wedge? This statement represents all that is wrong with the media. Whatever journalism “school” gave you you’re degree should be ashamed of themselves. Only a White Sox fan who is envious of the CLASS that the Indians organization has shown over the years would write this cr*p. Get over yourself and find a real job! LOL. I can’t believe I wasted between 18 seconds and 6 hours reading this TRASH!!!

Remember when Shapiro was the toast of the baseball world and any forward-thinking team in need of a GM would have hired Chris Antonetti in a heart beat? I wonder how much Antonetti cost himself by sticking with the Indians rather than jumping to another team when he was a hot commodity. Could he replace Shapiro when Shapiro is axed? I still like how those two ran the organization (besides being a bit conservative in the draft) and it seems like bad luck was to blame for the Indians failure as much as anything else.

“Why would you even write about weather the Indians lied by saying they would keep Wedge? This statement represents all that is wrong with the media. Whatever journalism “school” gave you you’re degree should be ashamed of themselves. Only a White Sox fan who is envious of the CLASS that the Indians organization has shown over the years would write this cr*p. Get over yourself and find a real job! LOL. I can’t believe I wasted between 18 seconds and 6 hours reading this TRASH!!! “

“Why would you even write about weather the Indians lied by saying they would keep Wedge? This statement represents all that is wrong with the media. Whatever journalism “school” gave you you’re degree should be ashamed of themselves. Only a White Sox fan who is envious of the CLASS that the Indians organization has shown over the years would write this cr*p. Get over yourself and find a real job! LOL. I can’t believe I wasted between 18 seconds and 6 hours reading this TRASH!!! “

How did I double-post? And even better, the first post is missing my final sentence. That’s fab.

In other news, let’s discuss what any one of us would do in a lame-duck situation like Eric Wedge’s. Make the starters all pitch 9 innings/game no matter what? Re-order the lineup based upon OBP…in *ascending* order? Play with 4 outfielders and no shortstop?

On the other hand, if I didn’t hope to ever have another job in baseball, well, you know how in volleyball, every time you win back the serve, you rotate all your players? That would be a neat thing for Wedge to do! Each inning, move last inning’s pitcher to catcher, the catcher to 1st base, etc., with the right fielder coming in to pitch. By the end of the game, you’d be able to add 9 more guys to the list of people who have played all 9 positions in a single game.